From 6th to 8th of May the annual meeting of the Tropical Forest Alliance (TFA) takes place in Colombia
The German Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMU) and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), joined the Tropical Forest Alliance. Both ministries have been supporting extensive measures for the protection and sustainable use of tropical forests for many years. By actively participating in the Tropical Forest Alliance, Germany is expanding its commitment to deforestation-free supply chains.
German Environment Minister Svenja Schulze commented: "Tropical forests are of global importance for climate and biodiversity protection. In view of the dramatic extent of forest destruction, we must pool our efforts with the private sector and civil society. Only together can we make deforestation-free supply chains a reality."
German Development Minister Gerd Müller noted, "Through the Tropical Forest Alliance, more and more companies are making a commitment to stop the destruction of forests for our products. After all, forests provide livelihoods for more than 1.6 billion people. They are a source of food and income and help to prevent erosion and floods. But every four seconds, the world is losing forest the size of a soccer field. This has dramatic consequences. The rate of biodiversity loss is up to a hundred times higher than it used to be. Climate change continues to accelerate. Millions of people are losing their livelihoods. We can stop this if we protect forests systematically and sustainably."
Every year around 12 million hectares of forest disappear worldwide. In the tropics, the production of raw materials such as palm oil, soy and beef accounts for half of deforestation. In recent years, a growing number of international companies have committed themselves to making their agricultural supply chains deforestation-free. The Tropical Forest Alliance (TFA) supports the implementation of these commitments as a platform for mobilisation, exchange and knowledge transfer.
From 6th to 8th of May the annual meeting of the TFA takes place in Bogotá, Colombia. As an international partnership of governments, the private sector and civil society, the TFA aims to improve the protection of tropical forests by creating sustainable agricultural supply chains.